The FAA Knowledge Test

Proctors: Jerry Hew and Tim Thrasher
MapComments
I got this CD in the mail a month and a half ago. It was supposed to be a sample of a private pilot training course. "90 minutes of the best training available," said the blurb. I put it in the car in case I got stuck in traffic. When I popped it in, I got to listen to a man who rambled aimlessly on until I was about ready to pop it back out and throw it out the window. But I do remember one point he made. "Too often, students concentrate on the flying and ignore the written" he said. When I got home, I checked the syllabus for the positioning of the written test. based on my scheduled lessons at the time, I could expect it within about 2 weeks. Some weather and some other factors stretched that time, in the end, but it got me thinking about it.

I spent two Sunday afternoons in a row studying for the "written". It's actually a computer-based multiple-choice test (see a sample at www.lasergrade.com), and my experience with such things as the Amateur Radio exams paid off, I think, but there is no subsitute for going over the material and then practicing the test over and over. I used practice tests at www.preparetotest.com, and I downloaded the question pool from the faa web site, with the figures. The best source of information, however, was a book. The ASA 2005 Private Pilot Test Prep includes a copy of the FAA figures supplement, and offers the best organization of the questions and answers that I have seen. I bought it for $14.95 at the flight school, and I was only trying to get the figures, but it was a serendipitous buy. If chance hadn't drawn the cute pilot shop lady as the person I was dealing with that evening, I probably would have complained about the price.

So I got an 85%. I wanted 100%, but I'm not looking back. The rote memorization of regulations was a lot more challenging than the math and geometry problems, for me, anyways. But then maybe you're not a former navigation engineer and GPS/cartography buff. I'm sure that the 9 questions that I missed consisted of either the uncertainty of navigation problems based on the map printing distortion, or on some section of the AIM/FAR that I forgot or never knew.

If you're facing the FAA PP Knowledge test, I recommend:

  • Buy the ASA Book
  • Do 10 or so practice tests open book
  • Do 20 or so practice tests closed book
  • Familirize yourself with the figures supplement, page-by-page
  • When working on a question with a figure (other than a chart excerpt): READ EVERY WORD ON THE FIGURE.
  • If you're absolutely stumped on a question because you don't remember some bit of info, leaf through the figures supplement and see if some page happens to mention it or allude to it.
  • practice using whatever calculator you're taking in. I took two mechanical e6Bs and a regular scientific calculator. So far the electronic flight computers are more confusing to me than the mechanical slide-rule type, but I know that they do good stuff. If you're inclined to buy an electronic one, buy it early and learn to use it before the test.
  • (This is Jason's idea) Use all the time. You get 2.5 hours to take the test. When you've answered every question, stand up, stretch legs, buy a soda or go to the drinking fountain, except keep the proctors apprised of your movements, so they don't think you're up to something. I took a little break in the pilot's shop, and I was careful not even to look toward the books section. I'm pretty sure that the break and then running through the questions one more time got me 1 oe two more right answers.
  • Before you turn it in, run through the questions and count the ones you're not rock solid sure about. You can miss 18 and pass. I counted 10 I wasn't sure about and I missed 9 total. If you count 19, take a deep breath and read each one again and see if you have an epiphany.